Middle-Grade Review: The Chaos Monster (Secrets of the Sky #1) by Sayantani DasGupta

 

About This Book:

Ten-year-old Kinjal knows something strange is going on. But he does not expect his dog, Thums-up, to disappear before his eyes in the middle of the night! Even stranger, two enormous flying horses appear and insist on taking Kinjal and his twin sister, Kiya, to a place they have never heard of: the Sky Kingdom. The twins have no choice but to go if they want to see their dog again, even if that isn’t why the winged pakkhiraj horses showed up in the first place. They have come to this dimension to seek help — bees are disappearing, along with the nectar the horses need to survive. 

Whisked away to a magical realm, the twins must use Kiya’s scientific skills and Kinjal’s love of books and language to help the horses. Once there, they discover that the disappearance of the bees is more nefarious than they thought, and the plot goes all the way to the top.

*Review Contributed By Jan Farnworth, Staff Reviewer*

A Great Adventure

 

What I liked:
I like stories about twins as you get a special bond, sometimes special powers, and usually a rousing adventure. Kinjal and Kiya are easy to connect with as they are written like real life siblings that squabble all the time but have a solid connection to each other because they are twins. The central theme of this middle-grade fantasy is that everything is connected; when one element is changed or harmed, it starts a ripple effect. A ripple effect may be a new concept for middle-grade readers, but it is a wise lesson as they begin making decisions beyond their family circle.
Final Verdict:
At 240 pages, The Chaos Monster is a great first novel in the series. It is not overly long, the chapters are a reasonable length, and there are a few illustrations to go along with the story—a great start to a middle-grade series.

 

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